Remembering Coventry band The Ramrods - Pete Clemons

It's been a while since we've had a new Pete Clemons article, not because Pete has slowed down but because of various changes at the Coventry Telegraph I believe. However, with the election out of the way, Pete has a new article. His articles are now on line as a matter of course but we will continue to document them here on with the rest of  Pete's work by his own request.

Pete Clemons has chosen to write about Coventry band The Ramrods - later major 5 which featured Danny Cunningham (Ex Squad) and later, Dave Pepper, formerly the X Certs.  Dave Pepper himself has a direct relevance with Hobo Magazine and Workshop - we gave Dave's first band Phoenix their first gig at the Hobo Workshop, Holyhead Youth Centre in 1974 (the band were only 16 or 17 at that stage and finding it hard to get a first gig) and the band were earmarked to play the Live Concert in the Coventry precinct in 1974 to promote the work of the Hobo Workshop. Unfurtunaltely the concert was shut down by the police for no good reason before Dave's band got a chance to play. The history of that concert is covered on another of Pete's articles here http://coventrygigs.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/hobo-workshop-concert-that-led-to-7-day.html

Remembering Coventry band The Ramrods

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/remembering-coventry-band-the-ramrods-9218116

Dave Pepper who was in Coventry band The Ramrods

Incredibly, 2014 marked 30 years since Coventry band, The Ramrods had a change of name, as well as direction and became known as Major 5.

These groups hardly seem to be mentioned nowadays. And that milestone went largely unnoticed. Yet, in my opinion, both of these groups contained some amazing talent, were very solid, consistently good but, sadly, were under achievers.

This oversight could well be down to how big 2-Tone was and how it possibly overshadowed everything else going on at the time. Another factor may have been down to the rise of other Coventry bands around at that time like King. It could have been their image. But one thing is for sure. Despite their best efforts, and a few false starts, The Ramrods and Major 5 never quite had the breaks they deserved.

Music in the 1980s was very much about image. Economically, the grim 1970s were now making way for a decade of growth in people’s income and lifestyle. This growth, to a degree, was reflected in the music. The Pet Shop Boys, for me, summed up the 1980s in their song ‘Opportunities’. And TV channels, such as the newly formed MTV, emphasised the image aspect also.

Danny Cunningham

It was all as if the people who were running the music business were adding more of their influence and indiscreetly trying to push music in a certain direction while the musicians themselves were, at times, trying to take it down another route.

MTV made its debut on August 1, 1981. The first music video to be played on that particular channel was appropriately The Buggles’ ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’. The whole industry, it seemed, was under change as the focus seemed to shift from the art of simply writing music and lyrics and began to concentrate more on the fashion and the theatrics of it all.

Personally, I felt it was a slightly confusing time. Punk and post punk had come and gone and now this new wave of music, which for me felt like the complete antithesis of what had just gone by, was beginning to kick in. Yet, at the same time, punk bands still continued to spring up and some were touring with this new wave of groups.

Danny Cunningham

The Ramrods formed during 1979 and were a rock band that played venues like the Hope and Anchor and The Whitley Abbey pub. They sported a leather jacket, torn t-shirt and denim image, similar to that of The Ramones , I guess. At their peak many people rated them as the best local band around. They wrote their own original music and were very good at it. ‘Prospect Street’, ‘Give ‘em a Reason’ and ‘Solidarity’, for example, are still incredible tunes and to this day remain among writer, Danny Cunningham’s, favourites. And these were just a few of the many really excellent songs the band had in their set.

The pedigree within The Ramrods was equally impressive. The band’s lead guitarist and main song writer, as mentioned, was Danny Cunningham. Danny had previously been a member of  Squad. His brother and rhythm guitarist, Barney (Burzy), had been a member of  Criminal Class. Initially the bass player was Kevin Tanner. He was replaced by Clint Morgan who, in turn, made way for Cliff Hands. On drums was Billy Little. Later on the band included Dave Pepper who joined on keyboards. But after Cliff Hands left, when The Ramrods were by then known as Major 5, Dave took over the bass duties as the band reverted back to a four-piece.

By the end of 1983 The Ramrods finally appeared to be going places after they managed to persuade Trevor Long, the manager of  Haircut 100 and with whom they toured with, to look after them as well. Long managed to get The Ramrods some prestigious gigs supporting Culture Club on their autumn 1983 tour. He also set them up to support ex- The Jam drummer, Rick Buckler’s band, called Time UK, on their October 1983 tour.

When I recently asked Danny Cunningham if he had any memories of that time he recalled when The Ramrods were due to support Culture Club at the Victoria Hall in Hanley. Up till then it had been a bit of a struggle for the band who did not have access to their own van and, as such, had to beg and borrow lifts where they could. The driver for that particular gig should have arrived at 4pm but never got to pick up point until 4.30pm. It was then a bit of a race up the M6. But the van driver had not realised that Culture Club were a band and toured Hanley looking for a club called Culture Club until the band set him straight.

Trevor Long also paid for the band to go into the studio. The resulting tapes were hawked around London and several record companies were sufficiently impressed enough to send representatives to a Ramrods gig at the Lanchester Polytechnic during October 1983. The Ramrods then spent a week during March 1984 recording at a London studio at the expense of RCA records with a view to a contract. Sadly, neither of those potential deals failed to materialise.

It was during July 1984 that Danny and Barney Cunningham announced that, after two years of being known as The Ramrods, the band now had a new image and would become known as Major 5. Their new look was unveiled at The General Wolfe toward the end of that month. And during August 1984, Major 5, along with other bands such as The Furious Apples, European Sun and The Hawaiian Surgeons, featured in the Coventry Festival – a precursor for the Godiva Festival .

April 1985 then saw Major 5 support The Pogues at the Lanchester Polytechnic 's ‘End of term bash’. A report of the gig stated the following ‘It would have been impossible for any band to have stolen the thunder from the magnificent Pogues but the one band who did give them a run for their money was Coventry’s own Major 5. In the downstairs bar at the Poly the group played a confident set of hard American influenced rock songs that were oozing with quality and fire’.

May 1985 then saw the band involved in many contract negotiations with an agency called TriTec. Trevor Long, who was still involved with the band’s interests, had even flown to New York to investigate an American recording deal.

August 1985 saw Major 5 spending several weeks in London. While there they performed at venues as diverse as Crazy Larry’s nightclub and The Half Moon at Putney. The band also spent time with the visually stunning and outrageous band Sigue Sigue Sputnik . At some point, around this time, Dave Pepper had met up with Tony James, the bass player of Sigue Sigue Sputnik. It was clear that this meeting inspired Dave.

The earlier association with The Pogues led to Major 5 landing the support slot on the band’s ‘Rum, Sodemy and the Lash’ tour during November and December 1985. This led to the band appearing on one of the biggest stages in the country, The Hammersmith Odeon . This happened on December 8, 1985 Major 5 along with The Tall Boys.

Dave Pepper

As good as they were, live, the pressure was beginning to show within Major 5. The last gig date I can find for the band was an appearance at the Dog and Trumpet during December 1986. The band had several line-up changes over the course of that year.

Mark Patrick had replaced Dave Pepper who by now was involved in his own futuristic band Blitzkrieg Zone which took off at the beginning of 1986. Cliff Hands had also left the band. He had been replaced by, firstly, a guy called Chris from the Wonderstuff and Pop Will Eat Itself gang who, in turn, was later replaced by Mick Teddler.

Nowadays Danny and Barney Cunningham are still heavily involved in the local music scene. Danny’s long running band Gdansk still continue to perform regularly in and around Coventry. But very occasionally you can still catch The Ramrods. Still complete with original members and still playing original songs. They appeared at The Spencer Club as recently as 2013 when they warmed up the audience for The DT’s. They also appeared at The Arches Club during 2014. Given the rehearsal time they give themselves, they are in my opinion, still very impressive.

Charting the Rich Musical History of Warwick University - Pete Clemons

It's been a while since we had a Pete Clemons post on here but pete is back in fine form looking at the musical history of Warwick University for the Coventry Telegraph.

Charting the Rich Musical History of Warwick University

Pete Clemons

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/charting-rich-musical-history-warwick-8935269

Away from the city centre another area of Coventry with an incredibly rich pedigree in music, and the arts, is

the 700-acre campus now known as The University of Warwick .

The University of Warwick, or Warwick University as it is more locally known, was first given government approval in 1961 and received its royal charter when it first opened during 1965.

Also out in that corner of the city, and already existing on what is now known as Westwood Campus in Kirby Corner Road, was the City of Coventry Training College for Women which first opened on the site in 1948. This, in turn, had replaced the Men’s Emergency College and was set up in a former wartime workers hostel to address a shortage of teachers.

When it became a mixed establishment during 1958 the City of Coventry Training College for Women also changed its name to the Coventry College of Education and, for many years, was more popularly known as Canley Teacher Training College .

Canley College of Education, Coventry

Remarkably the principle of the teacher training college remained the same from when it opened and for almost its entire duration. And it was Miss Joan Browne who had fulfilled that role through to when she retired in July 1975.

After Miss Browne retired from the teaching college, which had been an entirely separate entity, it then became known as the Institute of Education and during 1978 was absorbed into Warwick University. The college, itself, was situated at what is now Arden House on the Westwood Campus .

The Coventry College of Education had its own campus and hall along with its own student union. A strong live music scene existed their during the late 1960s through to the mid 1970s and the venue attracted the likes of Status Quo, Stealers Wheel, Barclay James Harvest, Genesis, The Average White Band, Dando Shaft and Fairport Convention among many other visitors.

Genisis

U2

Warwick University also had, and continues to have, a strong students union. The campus has, for many years, staged an annual arts festival. And those festivals, particularly those held during March throughout most of the 1970s, were fairly high profile. A whole weekend was taken up by a host of live concerts of all kinds, workshops, plays and poetry recitals. During their lifetime these festivals attracted bands such as The Pink Fairies, Caravan, Gong, Al Stewart, Osibisa and Desmond Dekker.

Apart from the festivals the venue became an important stop-off on the college circuit, which in itself was an important rung on the ladder to get on, and witnessed the appearance of many bands making their way in the music business like Pink Floyd, Mott the Hoople and The Wailers who, of course, included Bob Marley.

Warwick University also had a strong folk club which was quite pivotal in the area during the 1970s. Visits were made by Bert Jansch, Harvey Andrews, Dick Gaughan and Jasper Carrott among many others.

But if the 1970s saw some major talent play Warwick University then it has to be said that the 1980s saw a real purple patch for the university as both the ever growing Arts Centre and the student union were both attracting some serious names.

In 1970, five years after it opened, the University of Warwick, commissioned the building of an arts centre.

The Smiths

The building, itself, comprised of a main theatre and a studio theatre. But it also housed a host of other facilities. The opening ceremony of the Arts Centre, during October 1974, was attended by the likes of actress Dame Peggy Ashcroft and composer Leonard Bernstein. Without doubt this building enhanced the university’s stature within the arts world.

The Smiths, Simply Red, REM, Steel Pulse, U2, Talk Talk along with a host of local bands such as The Pink Umbrellas, King and, of course, The Specials all performed at either the student union venue or at the Arts Centre. I barely scratch the surface here. The list is actually quite substantial and just absolutely staggering.

Over time, of course, the Arts Centre would grow and this development saw the 1,500 all-seated Butterworth Hall completed in January 1981 with the Mead gallery following on in 1986.

By the end of the 1980s, however, times had changed and despite visits by bands such as Radiohead and

Radio Head

The Cardiacs the early 1990s began to highlight an issue that needed to be addressed. The music being provided by the university entertainments team was seen as becoming outdated. A questionnaire was submitted to the then current crop of students and the responses clearly highlighted that a ‘limited range of acts was being asked to appear’.

Club culture was growing and an upsurge in more regular events was required to provide entertainment every night of the week. The student entertainments team responded positively by introducing a variety of sounds. All of a sudden indie, rock, jazz, funk, soul, house, pop, R’n’B, 70s and 80s nostalgia were all being showcased at the university. Despite this, the bands still appeared, but the regularity of them diminished.

The festivals were revived during 2002 by way of the Warwick Student Arts Festival (WSAF) with the aim of showcasing and celebrating all aspects of student art. It features a programme of events including plays, musicals, dance, film, orchestras, choirs and bands. All the events are normally free to attend.

Another revived club at the university is Warwick University Folk Society which was formed in 2001. They

Warwick University Arts festival in the 1970s'

describe themselves as ‘an eclectic group’ and ‘aim to cater from beginners to enthusiasts, with involvement in both the music, song and dance aspects of the Folk scene’.

The students union, at the university, continues to be incredibly vibrant. They do not appear to have as many bands nowadays, although the likes of The Wombats and The Wild Beasts have appeared there in recent years, but they have continued the tradition of keeping abreast of the times by providing a wide range of club nights at the recently refurbished Students Union halls, also known as The Copper Rooms.

During 2009 the Butterworth Hall had a major overhaul that resulted in improved acoustics, new seating and an enhanced stage and backstage spaces. The result is that the Warwick Arts Centre continues to flourish and is now the largest of its kind outside of London. Apart from the theatres the Arts Centre also comprises a cinema, a conference room, hospitality suites, a restaurant, cafe, shops, and two bars. The site also includes the university bookshop and a branch of an entertainment retailer. It continues to have a regular stream of major name artists.

............................................................................

Warwick University Arts Festivals 1970's See here on the Hobo - Coventry Discos and Venues etc 

http://covdiscoarchive.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/warwick-university-arts-festivals-early.html

Warwick University Arts Festival 1971

The Primitives - Coventry band

First main Pete Clemons article for the Coventry Telegraph in 2015, this time remembering the 80's hit band The Primitives who reformed.


Do you remember Coventry band The Primitives?

Can anyone remember The Primitives?

The Coventry band that had hits such as ‘Stop Killing Me’ and ‘Out of Reach’. Not forgetting, of course,

their biggest hit, ‘Crash’, which saw chart success on both sides of the Atlantic and which also surfaced on the soundtrack of the film Dumb and Dumber.

In fact, during 2008, Mojo Magazine voted The Primitives’ second single ‘Really Stupid’ as one of the Top 40 UK indie singles of all time.

Well for those that do remember them, then you are more than likely to be aware that, after a period of well over 20 years, they returned with an album of fresh and new material.

The Primitives new album titled ‘Spin-O-Rama’ was released on October 13, 2014 on the band’s own Elefant Records label and does not appear to have lost any of the chemistry that once made them so very popular.

The Primitives formed during 1985 and created catchy and jangly songs that seemed to be influenced by 1960s pop and psychedelia. They were initially classed as an ‘indie’ group and released their songs on their own label which was called Lazy. In fact one of their early songs was actually titled ‘Lazy’.

The band then went on to sign up for RCA records. This was around about 1987/88. While at RCA they released more original material but also re-recorded some of their earlier Lazy label songs.

These re-recordings were for their first RCA album ‘Lovely’, released in 1988. Two more albums were released on RCA, titled ‘Pure’ and ‘Galore’, before the group disbanding in the early 1990s before finally calling it a day in 1992.

The Primitives actually got back together during 2009 and, by October of the same year, they had played their first reformed gigs. These were fairly low key affairs and were held at The Herbert in Coventry and the Buffalo Bar in London.

But since then The Primitives have been gigging more regularly at home and abroad. You may remember that they appeared at the Leamington Assembly during April 2010. And when they began to record together again The Primitives even enlisted the services of original producer and one time bass player Paul Samson who, of course, should need no explanation as to his role within Coventry music history.

Apart from new bassist Raphael Moore the rest of the band should, also, not require any introductions. Although Raphael is new to The Primitives he is very much local to the city and was once a member of acclaimed Coventry band The Furious Apples.

Steve Dullaghan

But for those who are new to the band they consist of original members from the classic period, and who made four appearances on Top of the Pops, namely Tracy Cattell aka Tracy Tracy on vocals, principal song writer Paul Court on guitars and vocals and Richard ‘Tig’ Williams on the drums.

It was actually tragic circumstances in February 2009 that got Paul, Tracy and Tig to get back in contact
with each other again and which ultimately led to the band’s reformation. This of course was the untimely death of the band’s founding member and bass player Steve Dullaghan. (Hobo magazine did a tribute to Steve here http://coventrymusichistory.typepad.com/blog/2009/02/the-primitives-coventry-band-tribute-to-steve-dullaghan.html

The Hobo Article on Steve

An EP release during March 2011, which featured two original songs alongside two cover versions, became the first real fruits of recorded music from the reformed band.

And then, during 2012, an album titled ‘Echoes and Rhymes’ appeared. It was essentially a covers album and contained fourteen relatively obscure tracks. But what an album it turned out to be. The songs covered, which included hidden gems like ‘Panic’ by Reparata and the Delrons, Sandy Posey’s ‘Single Girl’ and Nico’s ‘I’m Not Sayin’, were certainly given a whole new lease of life. I assume that the tracks involved were pulled together by Paul Court as I understand that he is a serious collector of rare and hard to find 45rpm vinyl records.

During the band's hiatus Tracy never went down the route of a solo artist. However, she contributed vocals to Band of Holy Joy among others, and also recorded with several outfits that worked in the dance music field. Tracy’s voice can also be heard on the short-lived, post-Primitives band Starpower’s cover of Nancy and Lees’s ‘Some Velvet Morning’.

In the meantime Paul Court continued to work with band member Tig, fronting post Primitives bands such as Starpower and Hedy. After a couple of singles were released Paul decided to give up music and moved into art and design. He sold his original artwork via his website Joypop Studio. Paul also began, and continues to, do DJ guest spots at London indie clubs.

After the various post-Primitives bands and projects, in which he was involved, had come to an end, Tig opened a shop called Pea Soup in Leamington Spa, selling hand crafted gifts and homeware items. He later went on to become a graphic designer.

Spin-O-Rama, if you read the reviews, does not appear to disappoint. And the band apparently had a great time putting it together. In fact most of the reviews I have read have shown the band in a positive light. Some go as far as mentioning the album to be one of the better ones that they have heard during 2014.

The title track, which kicks off the album, was released earlier in the year as a 7-inch single. This instantly sold out on pre-orders alone.

If you feel in anyway sceptical about The Primitives’ reunion then let me try to reassure you. The band has lost none of their original sound as such. What they have done here is to recreate the same formula but at the same time inject more experience and maturity in their sound.
This is the link to original Coventry Telegraph Article article http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/you-remember-coventry-band-primitives-8444204

From the 1st reunion at the Coventry Music Exhibition Herbert Art Gallery and Museum 2009

More here https://www.youtube.com/user/bgbgbgx/videos

Coventry Music Stars 2014

Coventry music stars that made 2014 a year to remember

Article by Pete Clemons for the Coventry Telegraph.

Rog and Pip

City music historian Pete Clemons takes a look back at some of the gigs and new releases that made last year memorable for him.

I have had another great year when it comes to record buying and gig going. As far as new albums the recent releases by Pink Floyd, Anathema, Syd Arthur, My Brother the Wind, Lunatic Soul, Gazpacho, Tim Bowness and The Pineapple Thief  have been particular favourites during the course of 2014.

On the gig front I also got to see several bands from the above list play live but also groups and artists whose roots date back to the 1960s like The Manfreds, The Fortunes and Chris Farlowe.

But the gig that seemed to get me the most outside of Coventry was the one by Status Quo at Wolverhampton Civic Hall during April. What was special about this gig is that it featured the Quo’s classic line up. And what made it so special was the atmosphere. With a set list which was structured around the bands 1977 live album it really was like going back in time and, well ...you just had to be there.

But I think what 2014 has reinforced with me is just how fortunate Coventry and its surrounding area is to have so much impressive, yet varied, talent right here on our doorstep.

Locally we were treated to three quite wonderful album releases which all sit at very different points of the musical spectrum.

March saw the release of The Game by singer/songwriter Kristy Gallacher while early December heralded the long awaited album debut by one of the more heavier of Coventry’s bands The Resurrection Men. Sandwiched in between them saw the arrival of  Si Hayden’s interpretation of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons on acoustic guitar.

Maybe your own personal music taste may well pull you in the direction of one of the above musical genres. You may well be tempted to buy. If that is the case then just do it. Trust me, none of these albums releases will disappoint. And at the same time you will be supporting these guys with vital funding.

The Sorrows in 2014

And then there was the rather fine release by Rog and Pip titled Our Revolution – not strictly new music but what this compilation did do was gather together, for the first time, all the singles released by the pair from the late 1960s through to the mid 1970s.

In addition to the albums we had a succession of single and EP releases that included some quite wonderful offerings from The Sorrows, The Moonbears, Callum Pickard and the Third Look and Barb’d Wire. Again, and as with the albums, these are all top notch releases.

I can only repeat myself here but Coventry and Warwickshire is incredibly lucky. By the way, these are not exhaustive lists. There are quite likely to have been other releases that I missed. For those who fall into that category you have my apologies in advance.

Once again I was treated to an awful lot of gigs in our area. The Mosquitoes, Blues 2 Go and Roddy Radiation and his Skabilly Rebels were without doubt amongst the highlights. But the one gig that really stuck in my mind was that by Joe O’Donnell and his band Shkayla at Warwick Arts Centre. Maybe because I went with no prior expectations but that one, for me, really was a bit special.

The new year is already shaping up to be memorable. Having been lucky enough to have heard a demo of an album release by a local artist I can safely say now that it will be one I will be raving over.

*** Original article in the Coventry telegraph here http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/coventry-music-stars-made-2014-8411572

Si Hayden

The Enduring Privacy of Pink Floyd - Pete Clemons

The latest article by Pete Clemons for the Coventry Telegraph features Pink Floyd. not such a strong Coventry angle this time but interesting all the same.

The enduring privacy of Pink Floyd

by Pete Clemons for the Coventry Telegraph

Link here http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/enduring-privacy-pink-floyd-8149574

Despite recording the most pre-ordered album in Amazon's history, rock group have always been reluctant rock stars.

To mark the release of Pink Floyd's new album, music writer Pete Clemons remembers when he bought the band members' solo albums and explains how they retained their privacy despite their fame...

It is a Saturday morning during September 1978 and I still remember hurrying into town to pick up an LP I had ordered from Virgin records in the arcade. The record I had bought that day was titled ‘Wet Dream’ and had been released by Richard Wright.

A similar thing had happened earlier in the year when I went to pick up the first solo release by Pink Floyd guitarist and fellow band mate David Gilmour.

I think at the time I expected to hear, within those two albums, extensions of the Pink Floyd sound. But solo albums were a different concept altogether and I had not really grasped that notion back then.

I suppose that this had been an opportunity to cut loose from the band and flex their individual talents in slightly different directions. David Gilmour’s album was more blues based whereas Richard Wright’s was a more laid back, easy going affair.

As it happened though, I was far from disappointed in those records. Both contain some brilliant songs and some very fine moments are to be found within them.

Pink Floyd in the early days

Wet Dream had been the first solo album by the late Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright and both this release and that of Gilmour’s slipped out very quietly and almost unnoticed at the time.

This, I am guessing, was down to the fact that, up until then, Pink Floyd had been a fairly private band. The individual band member’s names were only really known to those really keen fans who actively sought this kind of information out.

Check out the covers, or gatefold sleeves, on some of their early albums. At times these covers did not feature the band’s name. And the majority of the sleeves did not even contain any images of the group.

During the 1970s when the band was arguably at their peak interviews with them were, apparently, incredibly awkward affairs. This was particularly so when the questions veered away from the band’s current project or what the band was attempting to create musically. I personally, don’t think Pink Floyd were trying to be pretentious or anything like that. I just think it was a case of them wanting to keep their individual personalities out of their collective publicity.

In fact during an interview conducted in 1978 David Gilmour touched on this infamy: “This album was important to me in terms of self-respect. At first I didn't think my name was big enough to carry it. Being in a group for so long can be a bit claustrophobic, and I needed to step out from behind Pink Floyd’s shadow.”

And this privacy has, by and large, remained throughout the band’s existence. When Richard Wright passed away at the age of 65, during September 2008, the sparsest of information surrounding the incident was made available to the public.

In true Pink Floyd tradition and completely out of the blue a tweet appeared on July 5, 2014. It had been released by Polly Samson, the partner of David Gilmour, and simply mentioned that ‘Btw Pink Floyd album out in October is called ‘The Endless River’. Based on 1994 sessions is Rick Wright’s swansong and very beautiful.’

A day or so after that tweet the following statement appeared on Pink Floyd’s website: ‘Pink Floyd can confirm that they are releasing a new album The Endless River in October 2014. It is an album of mainly ambient and instrumental music based on the 1993/4 Division Bell sessions which feature David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard Wright. The album is produced by David Gilmour with Phil Manzanera, Youth and recording engineer Andy Jackson. Work is still in progress, but more details to come at the end of the summer.’ Of course, the album’s actual release date was set for November 10.

Durga McBroom, who is one of Pink Floyd’s long time backing vocalist and a touring member, went on to

reveal: “The recording did start during The Division Bell sessions which is why there are Richard Wright tracks on it. But David and Nick Mason (Pink Floyd’s drummer) have gone in and done a lot more since then. It was originally to be a completely instrumental recording, but I came in last December and sang on a few tracks. David then expanded on my backing vocals and has done a lead on at least one of them.”

The cover art, created by Ahmed Emad Eldin, is a vision of a man punting across an ocean of clouds and onwards towards a sunset. I do think that it has brilliantly captured the essence of what the album is about.

The Endless River will be Pink Floyd’s 15th and, apparently, final album. David Gilmour was very recently quoted on BBC Radio 6 as saying, “It’s a shame, but this is the end. The Endless River is a continuous flow of music that builds gradually over four separate pieces over the 55 odd minutes. There’s a sort of continuum from the Division Bell album to this, and the last phrase but one on The Division Bell is ‘the endless river’: the endless river forever and ever, at the end of the song High Hopes. The only concept is the concept of me, Rick and Nick and I, playing together in a way that we had done way way back in the past but had forgotten that we did, and was instantly familiar.”

Nick Mason continued, “I think Rick would be thrilled actually. I think this record is rather a good way of recognising a lot of what he does. I think the most significant element was really actually hearing what Rick did, because, having lost Rick, it was that thing of... it really brought home what a special player he was.”

Pink Floyd played gigs in the Coventry area several times, in particular, during their early years. In addition to the package tour of 1967 that stopped off at Coventry Theatre and also featured Jimi Hendrix they also played venues like Warwick University and the Locarno ballroom.

These venues, along with the Lanchester Polytechnic, were revisited by the band during 1969. And then of course they returned to the Locarno during 1972 where they performed an early version of what would become ‘Dark Side of the Moon’.

During their time together it is estimated that Pink Floyd sold more than 250 million records worldwide. And that is before this latest release. During July 2005 the ‘classic’ line-up reformed for the Live 8 event at Hyde Park. Given the events that followed it was a rather timely reformation.

And it appears that the appetite for Pink Floyd music still exists. Apparently ‘The Endless River’ was the most pre-ordered album on Amazon of 2014. But as the saying goes, all good things come to an end sometime.

King - The Rise and Fall of this Coventry Band

Pete Clemons now has his articles published automatically on line as well as in the physical version of Coventry Telegraph. Pete still wants the collection of his articles kept together but we can now do it differently - the text will digital with a graphic of the physical page but with the usual addition of supportive material from the Hobo websites.

This time Pete focuses on Coventry band  King.

The rise and fall of Coventry band King

by Pete Clemons  from Coventry Telegraph

King's album, Steps In Time

Music writer Pete Clemons profiles the history of Coventry band King...the article is from Coventry Telegraph - here  http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/rise-fall-coventry-band-king-7979279

With 1980s music being back in vogue recently it is worth remembering Coventry band King who were active between 1982 and 1986.

During their time together King certainly hit the heights as, at their peak, the band had a succession of hit singles and recorded two highly rated albums for CBS Records. However, it was how the band developed as a unit that I always found fascinating. Despite their eventual success it was not the smoothest of journeys.

The early 1980s were heady days for the Coventry music scene. There was an incredible amount of talent in

King's single, Soul On My Boots

the city and an abundance of bands sprang up during this period. One of them, The Reluctant Stereotypes, appeared on iconic TV programme The Old Grey Whistle Test, and had caught the eye of fashion designer Perry Haines.

Perry was also a stylist and magazine editor. In the past he had worked on videos with bands such as Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Visage. And now he wanted to add band management to his portfolio. Perry had been impressed by The Reluctant Stereotypes and in particular their flamboyant vocalist  Paul King . Sometime later Perry contacted Paul and invited him down to London for some modelling work. Perry also expressed a desire to manage Paul’s band. But by then The Stereotypes had disbanded. So Paul set about building a new group.

This led to the creation of Raw Screens who consisted of Paul on vocals along with fellow Stereotypes, Tony Wall on bass and drummer Colin Heanes. Completing the group were guitarist Jim Lantsbery, Lynn Thompson on trumpet and Mick Roberts on keyboards.

By early 1982  Raw Screens had taken over a floor of The General Wolfe pub on the Foleshill Road. The support of landlord, Ken Brown, toward local musicians was incredible. By the summer of 1982 Raw Screens had lost Lynn Thompson and changed their name to King. (Lynn Thompson is, nowadays, a member of the rather excellent Stone Foundation).

1983 began extremely well for King and they had an excellent week during January when they had a track

King's single, Love and Pride

played on Peter Powell’s Radio 1 show each evening for a week. They were also featured on BBC2’s Oxford Road Show on January 21 and the following night played a gig at the General Wolfe.

But there was disquiet in the camp and during Feb 1983 the band lost drummer Colin Heanes. In Colin’s own words he was ‘sacked for many reasons but mainly because he spoke his mind’. Colin was replaced by John Hewitt who had previously been with another local band Team 23.

1983 was a very busy year for King as they began the job of establishing themselves. They were given saw support slots for tours headlined by Wah!, Everything But The Girl and Jo Boxers. And towards the end of 1983 the band secured a recording deal with CBS records.

King quickly attracted a large following that included a number of skinheads. This was bound to happen, I guess, because of the way the band dressed in their Dr Martens boots which would go on to become their trademark attire. However vocalist Paul King was quick to play down the issue by emphasising the fact that the boots were not a symbol of aggression. The band was trying to turn all that on its head by painting the boots different colours and turning them into an enjoyment thing.

Part of a promotional pack put together by Perry Haines proclaimed ‘whereas Coventry was two tone,

Perry Haines

King now paint the town multi tone, embracing all the colours of the rainbow’. To distance the band from what had been King was being promoted as multi tone as opposed to a 2-Tone band.

March 1984 found King and Richard Burgess, of electronic band Landscape, in various studios. Over a three day period the group recorded ‘Love and Pride’ along with two B-side tracks but the recording session didn’t run smoothly. It seems that there were drumming issues.

The long awaited debut single was released during April 1984. King was really pleased with ‘ Love and Pride ’ with Paul King saying at the time ‘it is the best we could have done. It has a lot of potential but whether it is going to be a hit depends on whether the people at Radio 1 play it’.

The following month, May 1984, King announced the departure of drummer John Hewitt due to musical differences. However, John himself disclosed a deeper reason for his departure and revealed a series of what he felt were snubs. Even though he played drums on Love and Pride John had his picture erased from the single’s picture sleeve.

John also claimed that the rest of the band were allowed to buy new leather jackets for the photo shoot while he had to make do with a pair of oversized dungarees. And that he was not allowed to join the video shoot to promote the single.

With the LP recorded Paul King defended the band and claimed that King were changing their style and that it was John who was not happy playing in that style and it was he who did not want to stay as a member of the band.

During the album’s recording it was reported that the band had used an American drummer called ‘X’ who

King's album, Bitter Sweet

had agreed to play on the LP but did not want to join the band permanently. It is also reported that Richard Burgess also played drums on the album.

King then enlisted the services of  former drummer with The Members, Adrian Lillywhite, who joined the band in order to fulfil a tour that had been set up to promote the album. Over the next two years Adrian would tour and record with King but would never feature as a member of the band in any promotional photo or videos.

The band’s second single ‘Soul on my Boots’ was released during the summer of 1984 and was heralded in by way of a new design of Doc Marten boot. The band were delighted to each receive a pair of the 20-hole boots which made their debut at a gig at the Dominion Theatre in London.

On September 10 1984 King provided the pre-match entertainment at a testimonial for Coventry City’s then skipper and stalwart Brian Roberts. The band played a 45-minute set precariously perched on the back of a lorry parked in the centre circle at Highfield Road. The set included a reworking of the Match of the Day theme tune.

During October 1984 King played a gig at the Lanchester Polytechnic. By now the band were getting a youthful  following. Paul King said at the time ‘so many young teenagers want to go and see bands but they are stopped from getting into the venues by the licensing laws’. So the band duly obliged by putting on a 3pm matinee and fixed the entrance fee to just 50p.

Those early singles had not had an impact on the charts. It was only after King made an appearance on the iconic TV programme ‘The Tube’ and toured with Culture Club toward the end of 1984 that the wider public begin to take notice of them. This resulted in a demand to have those singles rereleased.

January 1985 finally saw King take off and break onto the charts. A headline tour that included a gig at Coventry Theatre followed. The year continued with an appearance at Glastonbury, a successful tour of the America, the release of their second album ‘Bitter Sweet’, and ended with an infamous gig at the Glasgow Barrowland’s on New Year’s Eve which was filmed for an Old Grey Whistle Test special.

All had not been well though and cracks in the band had begun to show during 1985. King toured Japan during 1986 and there was even talk of a third album. But despite the band’s now worldwide’ popularity, a Paul King solo album was preferred by the record label. This effectively finished the band.

After the split Paul King, famously, went to work for the media where he became one of the faces of the MTV boom. Now living in his native Ireland Paul is still involved with the media. A compilation CD that pulls together all of King’s music, that includes Paul’s solo work, was released. And even today their hits can be heard on the radio. Particularly those that favour 1980s dance music.

..............................................................................

The article as it looks in the physical copy of Coventry Telegraph

King - Offical Website http://www.kingofficialwebsite.com/html/steps_1.html

Reluctant Stereotypes

Singles
"Love & Pride" / Don't Stop (1984) UK #84

"Love & Pride" (re-release) (1985) US #55 UK #2
"Won't You Hold My Hand Now" (1985) UK #24
"Alone Without You" (1985) UK #8
"The Taste Of Your Tears" (1985) UK #11
"Torture" (1986) UK #23
"I Know" (1987) - Paul King solo UK #59
"Follow My Heart" (1987) - Paul King solo Failed to chartAlbums
Steps in Time (1984) - King
Bitter Sweet (1985) - King
Joy (1987) - Paul King

From Rex Brough Site

"Managed by Perry Haines, King had many hit singles, and were famous for their hideous mullet hairstyles, along with painted bovver boots. There was a lot of scoffing when this band started, but they worked bloody hard to get where they did, so well done to them. Once they hit, I remember not being able to walk around Coventry without seeing THAT haircut! They were working on a third album with Dan "instant replay" producing by split. Paul King made an Album "joy" produced by Hartman and appeared on the Ferry Aid single Let It Be, produced by our old friend Pete Waterman. He has been for many years a VJ on MTV, and very good at it he is too. Maybe all those years doing medieval banquets at Coombe Abbey paid off!"

The Raw Screens

From Pete Chambers

"Created from the remains of the ever-so-good Reluctant Stereotypes, The Raw Screens honed and perfected their act and then switched their name to King.

From a rather slow start the momentum increased and in January 1985 Coventry was back on the music map with the anthemic Love & Pride. It was a song designed to be instantly in your face, even beginning with its own chorus for maximum impact.

Although it would famously stay at number two in the charts throughout February, held back by Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson of all people, it was a song that gave the overall scheme and intent of the band in just one record. All the meticulous planning was paying off and a support slot with Culture Club had done the band no harm at all. It wasn't all Paul King however, Jim Lantsbery also cut an interesting figure with his guitar hero dynamics and Mick Roberts with some nifty keyboard work, was the musical backbone of the band. Listen to King now and see just how underrated he actually was. Finally Tony Wall was always there, holding it all together on his trusty bass guitar. The whole King experience was to last a little over a year although in that time they would enter the charts again with four more powerpop songs (including Won’t You Hold My Hand Now and Alone Without You)." http://www.bbc.co.uk/coventry/content/articles/2005/08/05/pop_past_thirteen_king.shtml

Reluctant Stereotypes formed first out of 2 jazz / rock bands Analog and Trigon who played their first gigs at the Hobo Workshop, Holyhead Youth Centre september 1974. Offshoot bands were Bung and Ens and then came Reluctant Stereotypes mark 1 and 2 with Paul King. RS split up c 1981 - two bands formed - Pink Umbrellas with Paul Samson and Raw Screens with Paul King. Raw Screens became King - but with various changes to the drummer before and after success.

Roots of  King

Analog 1974 The first band with future members of Reluctant stereotypes in played at the Hobo Workshop, Holyhead Youth centre.

https://sites.google.com/site/bandsfromcoventry/coventry-bands-a-to-z/coventry-bands-a/analog

Trigon - Also played at the Hobo Workshop - Holyhead Youth Centre 1974 - Paul Samson was a member. https://sites.google.com/site/bandsfromcoventry/coventry-bands-a-to-z/coventry-bands-t/trigon

Bung - Another prior to Reluctant Stereotypes https://sites.google.com/site/bandsfromcoventry/coventry-bands-a-to-z/coventry-bands-b/bung

Ens - https://sites.google.com/site/bandsfromcoventry/coventry-bands-a-to-z/coventry-bands-e/ens

Reluctant Stereotypes https://sites.google.com/site/bandsfromcoventry/coventry-bands-a-to-z/coventry-bands-r/reluctant-stereotypes

Pink Umbrellas - https://sites.google.com/site/bandsfromcoventry/coventry-bands-a-to-z/coventry-bands-p/the-pink-umbrellas

Raw Screens / King - Colin Heanes interview

http://marcoonthebass.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/reluctant-stereotypes-coventrys-avant.html